Breadcrumbs

Raise an action from an Automation

Use Raise an action when Automation finds something requiring assigned follow-up. Configure Action Type first under Admin > Settings > AI > Action Types. Producing Automation raises finding; different handler Automation can respond to acceptance.

Example: Turn AI spend anomaly into assigned action

Scenario: Daily report finds AI provider spend 61% above 30-day baseline. Team wants one tracked finding per provider and account rather than a new card on every run.

  1. Create Deviation Action Type, such as AI cost spike.

  2. Add fields for provider, account, percentage change and current spend. Choose stable fields for matching repeat findings.

  3. Create Automation that reads required report or Insight and extracts fields.

  4. Add Raise an action and choose AI cost spike.

  5. Map required payload fields to values from preceding steps.

  6. Set headline and evidence sentence if inputs appear in selected step.

  7. Keep default owner or provide Owner override – User ID only when better owner is known.

  8. Use Test run. Review output, card owner, deduplication behavior and Run History before Activate.

Add Raise an action

  1. Open Admin > AI Studio > Orchestrate > Automations.

  2. Open existing Automation or create one.

  3. In Builder, select + Add step after relevant analysis.

  4. Select Raise an action.

  5. Choose configured Action Type.

  6. Complete mapped fields required by Action Type's Payload contract.

  7. Check card headline and evidence sentence. Type may supply templates or allow agent-written content.

  8. Found by is optional. Leave empty to use Automation's name. Provide Specialist only if Specialist produced finding.

  9. Owner override – User ID is optional. Leave empty to use Action Type's default recipient.

  10. Save Automation and perform Test run.

Use variables from upstream Read, Extract values, Set variable, Instruction, or For each steps where they produce required data. Do not map missing values to invented data.

Decide when to raise action

  • Insight rule fires: Investigate alert, then create follow-up for cost owner.

  • Renewal date approaches: Route decision on notice deadline to contract owner.

  • Cost allocation remains incomplete: Assign mapping review to Cost Model Manager.

  • SaaS usage remains low: Assign licence reclamation review to appropriate owner.

For changes made after action acceptance, place Wait for approval in handler Automation before consequential write or external operation. Accepting action starts workflow; it is not approval. Producing Automation may also require review before raising finding when your process demands it.

Configure the follow-up Automation

Raise an action creates a card. It does not configure what happens when a person selects Act on this. Create another Automation for that response.

  1. In Admin > AI Studio > Orchestrate > Automations, create a second Automation for follow-up work.

  2. Set trigger to On app event, then choose An action is accepted.

  3. Under Which action types?, select Action Type raised by producing Automation. Select multiple types only when follow-up applies to each. Leaving selection empty matches every accepted action, so use explicit selection for a targeted workflow.

  4. Set Data access for records this workflow needs. Add steps such as Instruction, Extract values, Run report, or Notify.

  5. If another person must decide, add Wait for approval or raise a further action using a separately configured Action Type. Keep downstream changes after required approval.

  6. Select Save, run Test run as appropriate, and Activate. Test by accepting matching card in Inbox and checking this second Automation's Run History.

Example: An insight fires for GitHub AI spend 22% above baseline. Producing Automation raises AI cost spike Deviation card. Cost owner selects Act on this. Follow-up Automation investigates spend, produces root-cause report, then requests approval to notify responsible owner. Reviewing a card and approving a later decision are separate actions.

See Review findings with Take Action for recipient steps and handler troubleshooting.

How action creation and handling work

  1. Producing Automation runs on a schedule or event, collects data, and uses Raise an action.

  2. Action Type defines required fields, card presentation, default owner, and matching keys for repeated findings.

  3. When another run sends matching values for selected identity fields, existing finding is updated instead of creating another card.

  4. Use separate Automation for follow-up activities when action acceptance is configured. Add Wait for approval before changes that require approval.

Creating an action and approving an operational change are separate decisions.

Prevent duplicate actions

Configure repeat-finding identity under Admin > Settings > AI > Action Types > Lifecycle. Select the payload fields that consistently identify the same issue across runs. The available fields come from the selected Action Type's payload contract.

For Insight deviation, select rule_id, dimension, and dimension_value to match findings for same rule and dimension value. For AI cost spike, choose stable values such as provider and period if those identify finding for your reporting process.

Avoid changing measures such as total_spend, variance_pct, or severity unless change must create distinct finding. Leave identity fields unselected only if each run should create new card.

Check result

After testing, confirm:

  1. Run completed in Run History.

  2. Action shows expected type, impact value, headline and evidence.

  3. Correct person or role owns card.

  4. Required fields are present, with correct units.

  5. Re-running same finding does not create unwanted duplicate.

If step fails, verify Action Type still exists, required field names and types match, and mapped variables contain values. If card goes to wrong person, check Action Type's default owner and Owner override in Automation.

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